Idris Elba plays Roland Deschain, the last gunslinger in a crumbling realm linked to countless other worlds; Matthew McConaughey is the Man in Black, an über-villain who menaces not only The Dark Tower but a variety of other Stephen King novels. EW spent a week on the genre-hopping film's set in Cape Town, South Africa for a cover story that will hit newsstands tomorrow. Elba will speak "for the first time about race-swapping the Gunslinger, who until now has always been depicted as white."

One tidbit we can't wait to read about:

"Finally, as an extra treat, King himself weighs in on the film, explains what he asked to change in the script, and provides new insight into how the Tower saga connects to some of his other books, like The Shining, The Stand, and one long-ago short story."

The Dark Tower is due Feb. 17, 2017. It's directed by Danish filmmaker Nikolaj Arcel, who adapted the screenplay for the Swedish version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The script's by Arcel, Anders Thomas Jensen, Akiva Goldsman and Jeff Pinkner. Ron Howard, Brian Grazer and Erica Huggins are producing. Stay tuned to Fuse.tv for plenty more about the project.